Dog food recalled in Michigan due to sickness concerns

The Food and Drug Administration announced on Monday that an Illinois company that makes and sells dog and cat food has recalled dog food "out of an abundance of caution".

Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food of Wheeling, IL, volunteered to recall the food after a potential contaminant was detected in one lot of Hunk of Beef Au Jus - wet dog food.

The contaminant, identified as pentobarbital, can affect animals that ingest it, and possibly cause side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance, or nausea, or in extreme cases, possibly death, according to the FDA.

The dog food was sold in Michigan as well as Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Washington, California, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

The lot numbers 1816E03HB, 1816E04HB, 1816E06HB, 1816E07HB, and 1816E13HB, have an expiration date of June 2020, and a barcode that ends in 20109.

So far, five dogs have become ill and one of the five has passed away after consuming the product. Any animal owners who bought any of cans with the numbers above are urged to stop feeding it immediately and contact the company at 1-847-537-0102.

Evangers says it has verified that little to no product is still on store shelves fo any customers who still have the cans should return it to where they bought it for a full refund.

Here's the full release from the FDA:

Out of an abundance of caution, Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food of Wheeling, IL is voluntarily recalling specific lots of its Hunk of Beef product because of a potential contaminant Pentobarbital, which was detected in one lot of Hunk of Beef Au Jus. Pentobarbital can affect animals that ingest it, and possibly cause side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance, or nausea, or in extreme cases, possibly death.

The specifically-identified lot numbers (as detailed below) of cans of 12-oz Hunk of Beef being voluntarily recalled were distributed to retail locations and sold online in the following States: Washington, California, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and were manufactured the week of June 6 - June 13, 2016.

Although pentobarbital was detected in a single lot, Evangers is voluntarily recalling Hunk of Beef products that were manufactured the same week, with lot numbers that start with 1816E03HB, 1816E04HB, 1816E06HB, 1816E07HB, and 1816E13HB, and have an expiration date of June 2020. The second half of the barcode reads 20109, which can be found on the back of the product label.

The subject recall affects 5 lots of food that were produced from its supplier’s lot of beef, which is specifically used for the Hunk of Beef product and no other products. To date, it has been reported that five dogs became ill and 1 of the five dogs passed away after consuming the product with lot number 1816E06HB13. Evanger’s is proactively issuing a recall voluntarily so as not to risk potential exposure to pentobarbital in the product.

All Evanger’s suppliers of meat products are USDA approved. This beef supplier provides us with beef chunks from cows that are slaughtered in a USDA facility. We continue to investigate how this substance entered our raw material supply.

Because we source from suppliers of meat products that are USDA approved, and no other products have had any reported problems, we are not extending the recall to other supplier lots. This is the first recall for Evanger’s in its 82 years of manufacturing. Although it has been verified that little or no product remains on store shelves, if consumers still have cans with the aforementioned lot numbers, he or she should return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-847-537-0102 between 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Central Time, Monday - Friday.